Pope washes feet of 12 prison inmates at Holy Thursday Mass

Pope Francis kisses the foot of an inmate April 13 at Paliano prison outside of Rome as he celebrates Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper. CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano

VATICAN CITY — In a gesture of service toward marginalized people, Pope Francis washed the
feet of 12 inmates, including three women and a man who is converting from
Islam to Catholicism.

Although in Jesus' time, washing the feet of one's guests was
performed by slaves, Jesus "reverses" this role, the pope said during
the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper April 13 at a prison 45 miles from
Rome.

"He came into this world to serve, to serve us. He came to
make himself a slave for us, to give his life for us and to love us to the
end," he said.

Pope Francis made his way by car to a penitentiary in
Paliano, which houses 70 men and women who testified as a witness for the
state against associates or accomplices.

To protect the safety and security of the prisoners, only a live
audio feed of the pope's homily was provided by Vatican Radio as well as
selected photographs released by the Vatican.

The Vatican said April 13 that among the 12 inmates who
participated in the foot washing ceremony, "two are sentenced to life
imprisonment and all the others should finish their sentences between 2019 and
2073."

In his brief homily, which he delivered off-the-cuff, the
pope said that upon his arrival, people greeted him saying, "'Here comes
the pope, the head of the church.'"

"Jesus is the head of the church. The pope is merely the image
of Jesus, and I want to do the same as he did. In this ceremony, the pastor
washes the feet of the faithful. (The role) reverses: The one who seems to be
the greatest must do the work of a slave," he said.

This gesture, he continued, is meant to "sow love among
us" and that the faithful, even those in prison, can imitate Christ in the
same manner.

"I ask that if you can perform a help or a service for your
companion here in prison, do it. This is love, this is like washing the
feet. It means being the servant of the other," the pope said.

Recalling another Gospel reading, in which Jesus tells his
disciples that the greatest among them must be at the service of others, Pope
Francis said Christ put his words into action by washing his disciple's feet
and "it is what Jesus does with us."

"For this reason, during this ceremony, let us think about
Jesus. This isn't a folkloric ceremony. It is a gesture to remind us of what
Jesus gave us. After this, he took bread and gave us his body; he took wine and
gave us his blood. This is the love of God," the pope said.

Vatican Radio reported that several other inmates took an
active role in the liturgy, including four who served as altar servers. Other
inmates prepared homemade gifts for the pope, among them were two dessert
cakes, a handcrafted wooden cross and fresh vegetables grown in the prison
garden.

The evening Mass was the second of two Holy Thursday liturgies
for Pope Francis. The first was a morning chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.